List of colonial governors and administrators of Seychelles

This is a list of colonial governors of Seychelles, an archipelagic island country in the Indian Ocean. Seychelles was first colonized by the French in 1770, and captured by the British in 1810, who governed it under the subordination to Mauritius until 1903, when it became a separate crown colony. Seychelles achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 29 June 1976.

Flag of the governor of Seychelles (1903–1961)
Flag of the governor of Seychelles (1961–1976)
Sir Bruce Greatbatch, colonial governor of the Seychelles, inspecting police guard of honour in 1972

List of governors

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Italics indicate de facto continuation of office

Tenure Portrait Incumbent Notes
French Suzerainty
French colony, subordinated to Île de France (Mauritius)
21 November 1742 Claimed for France by Lazare Picault, named Îles de La Bourdonnais, not settled
1 November 1756 Annexed by France (Îles de Séchelles), not settled until 27 August 1770
27 August 1770 to 1772 Jean-Charles de Launay de La Perrière, Commandant
1772 to 1775 Joseph François Eugène Benjamin Anselme, Commandant
1775 to 1777 Jean-Baptiste Le Roux de Kermeseven, Commandant
1778 to 1781 Charles Routier de Romainville, Commandant
1781 to 1783 Louis François Claude Berthelot de la Coste, Commandant
1783 to 1786 François, vicomte de Souillac, Commandant
1786 to 1789 Augustin Motais de Narbonne, Commandant
1789 to 1792 Louis Jean Baptiste Philogène de Malavois, Commandant
1792 to 1793 Charles Joseph Esnouf, Commandant
9 September 1793 to 17 May 1810 Jean-Baptiste Quéau de Quincy, Governor Îles de Séchelles occupied by United Kingdom on 17 May 1794 (French administration continues to 17 May 1810)
British Suzerainty
British colony, subordinated to Mauritius
17 May 1810 to 2 June 1811 Jean-Baptiste Quéau de Quincy, Commissioner
2 June 1811 to 1812 Bartholomew Sullivan, Commissioner
1812 to 1815 Bibye Lasage, Commissioner
1815 to 1822 Edward Henry Madge, Commissioner
1822 to 1837 George Harrison, Commissioner
1837 to 1839 Arthur Wilson, Commissioner
1839 to 1850 Charles Augustus Etienne Mylius, Commissioner
1850 to 1852 Robert William Keate, Commissioner
1852 to 1862 Charles William Bhering, Viscount Bhering, Commissioner
1862 to 1868 Swinburne Ward, Commissioner
1868 to 1874 William Hales Franklyn, Commissioner
1874 to 1879 Charles Spencer Salmon, Commissioner
1879 to 1880   Arthur Elibank Havelock, Commissioner
1880 to 1882 Francis Theophilus Blunt, Commissioner
1882 to 1888 Arthur Cecil Stuart Barkly, Commissioner
1889 to 1895 Thomas Risely Griffith, Administrator
1895 to August 1899 Henry Cockburn Stewart, Administrator
August 1899 to 31 August 1903   Ernest Bickham Sweet-Escott, Administrator
British crown colony
31 August 1903 to November 1903   Ernest Bickham Sweet-Escott, Administrator
November 1903 to 1904 Ernest Bickham Sweet-Escott, Governor
1904 to 1912   Walter Edward Davidson, Governor
1912 to 1918 Charles Richard Mackey O'Brien, Governor
1918 to 1922   Sir Eustace Edward Twistleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, Governor
1922 to 1927 Sir Joseph Aloysius Byrne, Governor
May 1927 to November 1927 Sir Malcolm Stevenson, Governor
November 1927 to March 1928 Sir Justin Louis Devaux, Acting Governor[1]
March 1928 Robert Vere de Vere, Acting Governor Sworn in on 22 March 1928 as Louis Devaux had refused to relinquish power[1]
1928 to 1934   Sir de Symons Montagu George Honey, Governor
1934 to 1936 Sir Gordon James Lethem, Governor
1936 to 5 January 1942 Arthur Francis Grimble, Governor From 1 January 1938, Sir Arthur Francis Grimble
5 January 1942 to July 1947 William Marston Logan, Governor From 8 June 1944, Sir William Marston Logan. John Woodman OBE (Chief Justice, 1943–47) acted as Governor in 1946.[2]
July 1947 to 14 May 1951 Sir Percy Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke, Governor
14 May 1951 to 1953 Frederick Crawford, Governor
31 May 1953 to January 1958 William Addis, Governor From 9 June 1955, Sir William Addis
January 1958 to 13 August 1961 John Kingsmill Thorp, Governor From 13 June 1959, Sir John Kingsmill Thorp
January 1962 to 1967   The 2nd Earl of Oxford and Asquith, Governor
1967 to 1969 Sir Hugh Selby Norman-Walker, Governor
1969 to 1973   Sir Bruce Greatbatch, Governor Autonomy granted to the Seychelles on 12 November 1970
1973 to 1 October 1975 Colin Hamilton Allan, Governor
1 October 1975 to 28 June 1976 Colin Hamilton Allan, High Commissioner Self-rule granted to the Seychelles on 1 October 1975
29 June 1976 Independence as Republic of Seychelles

For continuation after independence, see: List of presidents of Seychelles

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Seychelles Chief Justice and the First Coup d'état". Seychelles e-News. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  2. ^ Who's Who. A & C Black.
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